"Bro-cean? Seriously, creampuff?"

"It's the Zetas. They're not the brightest but it would really mean a lot to Kirsch if we went. It's a pool party!"

"Though I'd hate to hurt the big puppy," Carmilla did not sound the least bit sincere, "I think I'll pass."

"C'mon! It'll be fun." Laura had climbed into the vampire's lap with the "Bro-cean Under the Sea Party" flyer when she entered the room. She wrapped her arms around Carmilla's neck, giving her most winning smile.

"A bunch of drunk co-eds falling into a swimming pool does not fall under my definition of 'fun.''

"I'll be wearing a skimpy swimsuit." Laura smirked at the way her girlfriend's eyes lit up, a devilish grin spreading across the vampire's features.

"You actually own a skimpy swimsuit? I'm impressed, cupcake." Carmilla ran her fingers from Laura's knees to her upper thighs, sending a shiver down the smaller girl's spine.

"What were you expecting?" Carmilla did not need to know that Laura had purchased the scant bikini the day before for the party and with the sole purpose of torturing her girlfriend at said party.

"Definitely pegged you as a one-piece kind of girl. Or a tankini. Please tell me it's not a tankini. Those are not scandalous." The brunette chuckled at her own joke, earning a shove from the girl in her lap.

"It's not a tankini you jerk." Laura's old swimsuit had definitely been a tankini. "So, you'll come?"

"As tempting as the promise of your skimpy swimsuit is, pool parties are just not my thing, cupcake. We could get you some water wings and have our own party though." She flashed her fangs, her fingers edging up Laura's top. Receiving only a blush and a glare, she shrugged and dropped back against the yellow pillow, reaching behind Laura to drag the book that had been displaced earlier back to her face. Laura huffed and shoved off the vampire, stomping over to throw herself face down on to her bed. Carmilla was unbothered, flicking through her book, until she heard sniffles across the room. She sighed, her copy of the Divine Comedy falling on to her face. "Cupcake, don't be like that. It's just a party."

"Yeah, I get it. You've been to thousands of parties and they're not that interesting and you don't want to bother 'associating yourself with the mortals' or whatever but for once, I'd like to have a nice night with my girlfriend outside of this room." Laura had rolled over, her eyes red as she glowered.

"It's not that. I just…can't, alright?"

"Oh, have other plans?" The way Laura sneered sent a sharp jolt of pain to the vampire's chest.

"No. I…I just don't want to go, okay?" Carmilla hated the way the words left her tongue.

"Whatever." Laura jumped up and snatched her bag, stomping as she left the room, the door slamming behind her.

The vampire was thoroughly angry with herself, not having it in her to actually blame Laura, but she could not bear the thought of going to the damn party. She gave up on her book, hastily putting it away before clutching Laura's-turn-her yellow pillow, staring at the door. Laura did not have class. She wondered where she was going. Maybe she had finally pushed her far enough and into the arms of Danny, who had no qualms about going to some dumb party, Zeta or not. Perry and LaFontaine stumbled in but quickly departed at the look on the vampire's face and the absence of Laura. Carmilla tortured herself while she waited for her roommate to return. Hundreds of scenarios played out in her head, none of them ending well. She did not dare dream of a positive outcome. She figured that Laura deserved to know. She hated that the girl thought that she did not want to spend time with her and her friends and though the latter was somewhat true (the ginger twins were growing on her), it was certainly not the reason for her aversion to this particular party.

She had talked herself into attending the disaster when Laura finally returned, her steps light and her face no longer crunched adorably into rage.

"Fine. I'll go to the party." Carmilla was shocked to find that the usually bubbly human did not squeal at her declaration, instead throwing her girlfriend a strange look.

"No."

"No?"

"Not like that."

"What are you talking about?" Carmilla had released the pillow, sitting up to stare at Laura in confusion. Laura approached, dropping on to the bed beside the vampire.

"I was being a brat."

"I'm the one refusing to go to some dumb party."

"And I threw a fit because you didn't want to go when something was clearly bothering you."

"Caught that, did you?" Carmilla gave a soft smile despite her words.

"I'm not completely oblivious."

"That could be debated."

"Why don't you want to go to the party?"

"Laura-"

"We're not going to go. I just want to know why." Laura took the vampire's hand, squeezing her fingers. Carmilla sighed. She had already decided to tell her an hour before and though she was eager to escape the party and this discussion, she could not ignore her girlfriend's earnest face.

"Well, there are a few reasons why so-"

"'Buckle up, creampuff' I know."

"Do you want to know, or not?" Carmilla's pained tone quickly silenced Laura. "For starters, I don't know how to swim."

"What?"

"Swimming wasn't exactly top of the list for the lessons of a seventeenth century countess."

"But the Blade of Hastur! You had to be a pretty good swimmer to grab it. And you volunteered."

"That was mostly sinking on my part. I had no idea what I was doing aside from grabbing the sword."

"Then why'd you volunteer?" Understanding dawned at the look she received from the vampire. "Oh. Right. So, um, why else?"

"Well the whole seventy years stuck in a coffin full of blood definitely put a damper on the idea of swimming."

"Oh, my god, Carm. I wasn't thinking. I'm so sorry." Laura's eyes were wide, tears threatening to fall, one hand tight around her girlfriend's hand, the other hovering over a barely clothed shoulder.

"It's fine, cupcake. Not your fault."

"It was insensitive of me and I apologize."

"Fine. Apology accepted. Mind if I borrow that one? I'll probably need it." Her terrible joke earned her a light shove and a smile, which was a success in her book.

"So have you ever been swimming?"

"I'm assuming the coffin doesn't count, so no."

"I could teach you, you know. I'm a lifeguard. Certified and everything."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I mean obviously not at the party but whenever. You know, if you want."

"Sure, creampuff. Sometime." Carmilla smirked as Laura blushed and looked down at their clasped hands.

"I mean we're still not going to the party but I would never make you do anything you wouldn't want to, Carm. I wouldn't make you get in the pool and I wouldn't let any drunk Zetas toss you in the water, not that you'd really need my help. We could just stand around looking really hot in our swimsuits. Oh, you probably don't have swimsuit. That was probably another reason, wasn't it-"

"Laura. You can go to the party. I won't mind."

"Parties aren't really that interesting without you."

"I'd just stand around and glare menacingly at anyone so much as looking at you but I'll go with you if you want."

"We're not going." Laura had looked up, her eyes bright but she shook her head.

"Laura, if you want to go, we'll go."

"You just told me all the reasons why you don't want to go to the party. We're not going." She hops up, reluctantly releasing Carmilla's hand as she rushes over to her bag. She rummages through it and returns to stand shyly in front of the vampire. "Besides, I already bought these." The brunette had been preparing an elaborate argument with which to convince Laura that they were going to the damn party but the words evaporated as Laura brought her hands out from behind her back, revealing two packages of bright yellow water wings. "After I stormed out, which I'm still not proud of, I thought about what you said and I'd much rather stay in here. I know you said the water wings were for me but I couldn't resist. And since you probably don't have a swimsuit…" She flashed what she hoped was a seductive grin but it ended up being much dorkier than intended.

"Are you telling me you want to stay in here and wear your swimsuit and those water wings?"

"Yes." Laura's cheeks flamed as Carmilla stood, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling the smaller girl close. The vampire bit her lip, eyeing her girlfriend up and down, a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips.

"I don't need a swimsuit, sweetheart." She plucked a package of water wings out of Laura's hand. "Put on your swimsuit and those ridiculous wings and meet me in the bathroom." Laura was terribly confused until Carmilla walked away, shedding her shirt before she reached the bathroom. It all finally clicked into place as she watched the vampire unsnap her bra before closing the door behind her with her foot. Laura stared at the door, her jaw slack for several moments. The sound of the shower running finally spurred her to action. She stripped quickly and threw on her new bikini, nearly slipping as she dashed to the bathroom, one water wing on and the other between her teeth as she inflated it.

Carmilla was not a fan of pool parties but she loved shower sex. Laura just hoped that the next time she worked the pool back home that she would not get ridiculously turned on at the sight of water wings. Only her stupid sexy vampire girlfriend could make the ridiculous fluorescent inflatables attractive.